We All Fall Down: The Dismantling of the Warsaw Pact and the End of the Cold War in Eastern Europe

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Published: Winter 2023/24

People stuck flowers in remains of the Berlin Wall during a commemoration ceremony to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall at the Wall memorial site at Bernauer Strasse in Berlin, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019.

Summary

New evidence from Czech, German, Hungarian, Polish, and Romanian archives shows that at the end of the Cold War, Eastern European policymakers resolved to destroy the Warsaw Pact that bound them to the Soviet Union in order to align with Western Europe. They sought security and wanted to hedge against a hard-line takeover in the Soviet Union; but their primary aim was to reap the West’s economic benefits.

Recommended citation

Simon Miles, "We All Fall Down: The Dismantling of the Warsaw Pact and the End of the Cold War in Eastern Europe," International Security, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Winter 2023/24), pp. 51–85.

Diplomacy Europe History International Relations International Security & Defense International Security Program NATO Russia

Recommended citation

Simon Miles, "We All Fall Down: The Dismantling of the Warsaw Pact and the End of the Cold War in Eastern Europe," International Security, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Winter 2023/24), pp. 51–85.

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